That Warm Fuzzy Feeling
by mischieflover
Summary: Bella has finally realized that maybe vampires are detrimental to her health. Bella chooses to leave,a bit OOC. Set in New Moon. PLEASE RR! THIS IS NOT FOR JACOB-HATERS! ACT YOUR AGE AND DON'T FLAME THIS!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own squat. Damn, it all must have been a dream… :)**

**PLEASE, PLEASE RR! I love you guys!**

**A/N: **well, this one came to me while I was studying for my Spanish final (me? Studying? It's been known to happen…) and I began to write it after my essay final for Critical Reading. Yes, this one is more BxJ oriented, please don't kill me for it if you don't like them together – I have others you can check out then! Ok, I'm done, enjoy!

"_I didn't spend a dime," Edward assured me. He brushed a strand of hair from my face, leaving my skin tingling from his touch. _

_I inhaled deeply and turned to Alice. "Give it to me," I sighed._

_Emmett chuckled with delight._

_I took the little __package__, rolling my eyes at Edward __while__ I stuck my finger under the edge__ of the paper and jerked it under the tape._

_"Shoot," I muttered to myself when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut._

_It all happened very quickly then._

_"No!" Edward roared._

_He threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table. It fell, as I did, scattering the cake and the presents, the flowers and the plates. I landed in the mess of the shattered crystal._

_Jasper slammed __into__ Edward, and the sound was like the crash of boulders in a rock slide._

_There was another noise, a grisly snarling that seemed to be coming deep from in Jasper's chest. Jasper tried to shove past Edward, snapping his teeth just inches from Edward's face._

_Emmett grabbed Jasper from __behind in__ the next second, locking him into his massive steel grip, but Jasper struggled on, his wild, empty eyes focused only on me._

_Beyond the shock, there was also pain. I'd tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. Only now did I feel the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow._

_Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm – __into__ the fevered eyes __of__ the six __suddenly__ ravenous vampires…_

The memory of Jasper's snapping teeth, glistening with venom, haunted me the entire ride home, and now I saw it in my head as I lay in bed. Edward had apologized over and over. Over and over I had to tell him that I didn't blame them at all for what had happened – after all, it's in their nature.

I blamed myself for putting them in such a position that they could have exposed themselves. Was I so selfish that I would risk ruining their eternal lives just to be with them?

I needed to seriously think about the future. That was why the window was closed tonight. He would ask what I was thinking so hard about, and I didn't know what I would tell him.

Almost a year too late, I realized why he had wanted me to stay away from him. Of course, I had known then too, but I had ignored the threat, ignored the warning. Love can make a person do stupid things. The control was there, but only just. Underneath, the monsters that he had always told me existed lurked, hidden behind the golden eyes.

I knew what I had to do. He had always saved me; now it was my turn to save him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: we all know who these amazing characters belong to…**

**PLEASE RR!!! Thank you all!!**

_Please, I don't want to have to deal with flames from the Jacob-haters of the world, so be polite, act your age, and go find a different story if you don't like BxJ stories – I do have one that is BxE only, and another that is kind of Jacob oriented, but it doesn't end well for him…. Go have fun with those. For the rest of you that are ok with BxJ stories, I am done ranting and now enjoy…! Oh yeah, RR!!!_

I felt like the living dead the next morning. I hadn't slept well; my decision at away ate me all night. But I was decided – choosing was the hard part, but once I made a choice, I went with it. I just hoped that this was the right choice.

I left with thirty minutes left before school actually started. I had to leave before Edward came to pick me up. I knew he would think I was avoiding him because I was scared. I was scared, but not for his reason, not because he was a vampire. I was afraid of the effects my decision would have on me, would have on him.

I pulled into a prime parking spot, and sighed. I still didn't know how I was going to tell him. The parking lot filled up, slowly at first, and then it was time to go. I still hadn't come up with a solution.

There was a light rap on my window. Edward was waiting for me, a smile on his beautiful face. It was a sad smile. He opened the door politely. I gathered my things and slid out.

As we walked into English, Edward kept pace silently beside me. He kept a few cautious feet between us. It felt like the early stages of our relationship; from the day I thought he was Spiderman, to that day in our meadow.

Funny how time seems to speed up when you're dreading something. In no time at all, Edward and I were walking back to the parking lot. "Bella?" Edward paused at the back bumper of my truck.

I gulped. "Yes?"

Edward looked hesitant. I had never seen him unsure of anything. "About yesterday—"

I held my hand up, and Edward fell silent. "I'd like to talk about that. Will you be over later?" Edward nodded. He kissed my cheek swiftly before walking to the Volvo across the parking lot. I sighed, got in my truck, and drove home.

I did my homework slowly, trying to stay away from too much free-thinking time. I paused in my work to cook dinner. Charlie had told me, via a note on the table, that he was working the late shift as well, so I only had to make food for myself. I decided to keep it simple; I grabbed the butter, two slices of bread, and cheese to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

The phone rang. I flipped the sandwich and went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Bella?" It was Jessica.

"Hey Jess, what's up?" I put the sandwich on a plate and sat at the table.

"We-ell," she said, drawing out the word, "it's Friday, and Angela and I were going to catch a movie in Port Angeles. Did you want to come?"

"Thanks for the invite, Jess, but I'm going to have to take a rain check; I'm busy tonight."

"Oh. Alright, see you Monday then."

"Yep, bye Jess." I hung up and took a bite out of my sandwich. The clock on the stove told me that it was six-thirty. I threw down the rest of my sandwich.

There was a gentle knock at the door. "Come in!" I called, my hands submerged in dish water. I placed my plate in the drying rack and wiped my hands on the towel. I turned around and saw Edward standing just inside the kitchen.

"Alice said I should come now; is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine." I took a deep breath. "Well, I guess I won't keep you in suspense any longer." Edward waited politely, but there was a sort of honest, slightly fearful curiosity in his golden eyes. Evidently Alice had kept what she saw to herself. "Edward, you know that I have never loved anyone else like I love you." I took another breath and went on, "But… I think that it's finally sunk in – that it would be beneficial to my health…if I wasn't around you so much…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ok, we all love Stephenie for her amazing characters.**

**PLEASE RR!! **Like always :)

_A/N: Um, ok, I need input: should Jacob imprint on Bella or not? I'm putting this to a vote; I wanna know what you guys want. Tell me!_

_On with the show…_

I bit my lip. Edward's expression wasn't shocked or surprised. It was more of less resigned. I waited for him to say something, but he didn't. I sighed. "It's not because you're a vampire – well, not totally because of that. I still love you, but it's hard to love someone when… you're dead. I don't know how to explain it exactly."

Edward half-smiled, but the humor didn't reach his topaz eyes. "I know what you mean, Bella."

Relived that he understood, I added, "You know, we could still be friends. I don't want this problem to stop everything." I gave him a half-smile of my own.

Edward shook his head. "I don't want to run the risk of something like that happening again," he said as I opened my mouth to protest. "Everyone else has already left," he told me sadly. "They send their best." I shut my mouth and nodded numbly. Edward sighed, "Goodbye Bella." He turned and strode swiftly out the door.

"Bye," I whispered after him. I sat down heavily in one of the kitchen chairs. Part of me was thankful – it could have gone worse. Another part yelled, "Why did you do that?! You're never going to find someone like him again!" I groaned and tuned that part out. I trudged up stairs and glanced at the clock as I went into my room. Seven o'clock. That went much quicker than I had thought it would.

I groaned again. It was Friday night, and I had nothing to do; and I had just pushed away one of the most important people in my life.

My brain unconsciously flashed back to when I first found out that Edward was a vampire. "_There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was,_" Jacob had told me. I had no idea how right he would be.

Hey. Jacob. I could go visit Jacob. It had been a while, and I obviously wasn't planning on doing anything.

With renewed vigor, I skipped downstairs, catching myself on the railing as I tripped on the last one. Something told me I shouldn't be this happy after what I'd gone through earlier, but I was determined not to dwell on it too much.

I pushed my arms roughly through the sleeves of my jacket and took the keys out of the pocket. Locking the door behind me, I ran out into the rain and jumped into the chilly cab of my truck.

I carefully ignored the shiny stereo as I backed out of the driveway, and drove down Fork's only main road to La Push.

I slowed down as I drew nearer so I wouldn't miss a turn or something. I finally made it to the Black's little house without trouble. A flash of light shown from a window as I drove up to the house and killed the engine.

Jacob's tall frame blocked the light that flooded out of the door for a moment before he ran out into the rain to meet me. "Bella!"

"Hey Jacob!" His enthusiasm was contagious. I hopped out and we ran back to the house.

Billy handed a towel to Jacob. "Hello Bella," he said, his deep voice rumbling.

"Hi Billy," I replied, my enthusiasm fading a bit. The last time I saw him, he was telling me to stay away from Edward and his family.

"I'm sorry about the Cullen's departure; I know you were close to one of the… boys," said Billy. He didn't sound very sorry to me.

I nodded and looked away from his gaze, examining the linoleum floor of the little kitchen. "Dad!" I heard Jacob whisper sharply. A hand fell on my shoulder, steering me into the living room. Jacob sat down on the old couch and pulled me down with him. "I'm sorry about that," he said.

"It's alright, Jake," I muttered, pulling at the edge of a blanket next to me.

Jacob sighed. "He can be so insensitive sometimes." Then he groaned, leaning forward and rested his forehead in his hands.

"Jake? You okay?" I reached out and touched his shoulder. "Whoa! Jake, you're burning up!" I exclaimed.

Jake moaned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: these character****s belong to the talented… me! j****k, they are Stephenie's through and through, and we all know that.**

**Again, PLEASE RR!!!**

Vote 2008: I want to know what you all want – now! Should Jacob imprint on Bella?? This is a crucial decision for the next chapter, so it's not going to be updated until I get a decent amount of votes; I've got three so far…Vote when you review! Because you _will _review…

Billy rolled into the room at full speed. He felt Jacob's forehead while Jacob rocked back and forth, still moaning. He muttered something like, "Not already!" Jacob was shaking violently where he sat.

"Bella, go call Sam Uley," Billy commanded, ushering me out of the living room. "The number is next to the phone."

I obediently went to the phone and found the pad of paper that had a bunch of numbers scrawled on it. Sam Uley's was the third one on the list, under Charlie's. I dialed and waited two rings, and then someone picked up.

"Hello?" answered a deep male voice.

"Is this Sam?" I asked, praying it was; Jacob was getting worse by the sound of it.

"Yes. May I ask who this is?"

"I'm Bella Swan. Listen, Billy asked me to call you. Jacob isn't feeling well; he's got a really high temperature –"

"I'll be right over," Sam interrupted. "You should leave before you're exposed." The phone went dead.

"See you," I said to the phone. As I hung up, Billy called to me gruffly.

"Bella, you should go home before you get exposed."

I narrowed my eyes in his direction, since he was still in the living room with Jacob. I wanted to help, but as Jacob's groans grew louder and more painful, I decided I'd come back in a day or two to lessen the risk of catching whatever he had.

As I reached for the doorknob, the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. A tall, dark, built young man walked in, giving me a quick glance. I assumed that this was Sam Uley. "Jake's in the living room," I told him, unnecessarily, as Jacob could clearly be heard. Sam only nodded, and he disappeared into the little living room.

I pulled the hood of my jacket up as I ran through the mist into my truck. I drove carefully back home through the dark swirling mist. The full moon shown eerily between gaps in the clouds.

The house was still dark as I pulled into the driveway.

I glanced at the clock on the microwave as I flipped the lights on. It was eight-thirty. I shook my head; this had to be the slowest night in history.

I got ready for bed slowly. After I brushed through my hair more times than strictly necessary, I pulled open the medicine cabinet and took down a bottle of cold medicine. I had only deliberately taken cold drugs once before when I wasn't sick. I pushed that thought out of my mind before it could lead to memories – I wasn't quite ready to face all the consequences of my decision.

I wanted to get a good amount of sleep, so I could face tomorrow with a relatively clear head. Also, taking the pills would keep my night dream-free.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up to a dreary Saturday morning. I stretched and rubbed my eyes, before the previous day's events came rushing back. I blinked, waiting for the tears to run. A single tear escaped. I stared at the wet drop on my finger. _It could never had worked properly, Bella_, my subconscious tried to convince me. I nodded to myself; it sounded reasonable. Edward's beauty had always struck me like a bolt of lightning. How was I good enough for him? I couldn't see what he saw in me every morning I looked in the mirror.

My door creaked open. Charlie tried to inconspicuously stick his head in my room to see if I was still asleep. "Oh, hi Bells." He stepped in a bit farther. "I was just going to tell you that Harry and I were going to go fishing, nice day and all…" he trailed off. "Hon, I'm sorry about the Cullens," he paused, not knowing where to go from there.

"It's alright, Dad," I murmured, trying my best not to make him feel awkward. Charlie stood in the door for a moment, shuffling his feet a bit, anxious to be on the way.

He sighed, "Do you want me to stay home today?"

"No, Dad, you go catch us some dinner." I hopped out of bed and gave him a hug that had more cheer than I felt. "I was going to go visit Jacob; he wasn't feeling so hot yesterday. Actually, he was burning up, but that's kind of beside the point…" I was rambling.

Charlie patted me on the back. I followed him down the stairs and helped him gather his gear. He took the fishing pole before I could do any damage with it. He nodded to me and I shut the door behind him.

I went back upstairs to change into jeans and my light blue t-shirt. I swung into the bathroom and brushed my teeth vigorously while running my fingers through my hair with the other hand.

The phone rang and I wiped my mouth hurriedly. I snatched it up on the third ring. "Hello?" I said a bit breathlessly.

"Bella," said a vaguely familiar voice, "this is Sam Uley."

"Oh. Hey, is Jake okay?"

"Not really. Billy wanted me to tell you to stay home for a while so Jacob can… recover."

I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn't see the movement. "I can help; Billy can't take care of Jake by himself."

"The guys and I have got it under control Bella," he said curtly. "We'll let you know when he's ready." The phone went dead. Apparently, Sam Uley wasn't one for goodbyes.

"The hell you do. I think that this requires a woman's touch."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. :(**

**PLEASE RR!! I dedicate this chapter to all of you who have reviewed and voted in Vote 2008; I hope you enjoy the update!**

-

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, I was on my way to La Push. I drove as fast as my truck would allow – which admittedly wasn't very fast.

I pulled in front of the Blacks' house faster than I should have, and debris sprayed as I hit the brakes. An unfamiliar face appeared in the window and scowled. I ignored him, pulled my keys out of the ignition, got out and slammed the door shut.

The door of the house opened before I could storm up to it. I recognized Sam Uley frowning at me. "I told you not to come."

I stared back at him. "Jake's my friend too. I need to help." I stepped closer, but Sam didn't move.

"No, you don't."

I glared at him, but he didn't flinch. He gazed calmly back at me. Then a hand fell on Sam's shoulder. Sam turned and Jacob gave him a meaningful look. Sam sighed, but relented. Jacob turned back to me, about to apologize. Then he froze. I shifted uncomfortably under his fierce fixation. I glanced back at Sam, who was looking between Jacob and me, stunned.

The boy, whose face I saw in the window before, appeared over Jacob's shoulder, took one look at Jacob and grinned. "Way to go, Jake; got her already." He slapped Jacob on the back.

"Embry," said Sam, "go tell Billy and Old Quil."

Embry nodded and shouldered past Jacob, breaking into a run as soon as he passed me. Sam's voice seemed to reach Jacob; he wasn't staring quite so hard, and blinked once in a while. Sam put a hand on Jacob's chest and firmly pushed him back into the house. Jacob finally broke his gaze and looked at Sam, alarmed. Sam ignored him. "Come in Bella." Jacob relaxed.

I stepped hesitantly over the threshold, a bit unnerved with Jacob's reaction to me. I followed Sam and Jacob into the living room. Jacob sat down on the couch and immediately made room for me. As I sat down, I caught Sam giving Jacob a reproving look.

The couch started to vibrate oddly. "She can know now!" Jacob said heatedly. His voice was hoarse, as if he had lost his voice and was just now recovering it.

"Jacob, calm down," Sam said evenly. Jacob shook his head back and forth a few times. I looked between them. Sam was very obviously in charge here. "It won't do anyone any good if you lose control now."

I found my voice. "I can know what?"

Sam leveled a look at me. "Jacob isn't really sick."

Jacob snorted at that. "I'd prefer being sick to some of the side effects I have now." I frowned. This was making no sense to me. Jacob must have sensed my confusion. "I'm going to assume that you're pretty good with the weird things, seeing as you…" he trailed off before beginning again. "Do you remember what I told you, that day on the beach?"

I thought back. Of course I did. I'd tricked Jacob into telling me what I wanted to know about Edward. My heart lurched, but I nodded. "You told me legends about the cold ones."

"Of course you remember that part," he muttered, not meaning for me to hear. I barely caught it, and I didn't like his tone. "Do you remember the other part?"

I thought again, a bit harder. He'd started everything off by telling the background of his people, the Quileutes, and how they had supposedly descended from the wolves and were werewolves themselves. "You mean the part with the werewolves?"

Jacob exhaled, relieved. "Yes, exactly." He glanced at Sam, and so did I. Sam nodded and took himself into the kitchen. I looked back at Jacob. "Bella, I really don't know how to say this without saying plainly." He looked down for a moment, and took my hand. I gasped; his skin was so hot, like yesterday. He looked back up at me, a sort of urgency in his expression. "I'm a… werewolf."

I stared at him, and then looked at our hands. _A werewolf. Jake's a werewolf,_ I thought, unaware of anything around me. _And your point is? Edward was a vampire,_ I argued with myself, _and you didn't seem to have that much of a problem with it._

"… take a while, but you'll see." I realized that Jacob was talking.

"What, sorry?"

"And I know this might add to the shock, but I have to say it now. I love you, Bella. It probably doesn't make much sense to you now, but I can explain it. It might take a while, but you'll see. There's this phenomenon; it's rare, but it happens. We call it 'imprinting'." I nodded when he pause to show that I was keeping up so far. "It's instinct, really. Once we see _her_, we know."

"Her?" I repeated.

Jacob smiled, and I felt some of the numbness I was feeling before evaporate. "Our soul mate, the one we're meant to be with the rest of our lives."

"O… kay." I wasn't completely sold on love at first sight. I had thought that Edward and I had shared a bond much like the one Jacob talked about. Obviously, it wasn't completely true.

"You don't believe me." It wasn't a question. Jacob sighed.

I held up my free hand. "It's not that I don't believe you, Jake. But I thought I had found my one true love, and it didn't work out."

"The bloodsucker? Oh, I'm sorry." I was staring at him, wide eyed. How could he know? _Face it, Bella. He's a werewolf now; he knows the legends are true._ My logical self was definitely making some sense today. "Bella? I'm really sorry, I won't say it again."

"It's okay. So," I tried to recover the lost conversation. "Soul mate, huh?"

"Yeah, I know it's sort of hard to believe. But I won't ever hurt you. I'll take care of you like no one else can."

"Wait, what?"

"Bella, I imprinted on you. That's why I can tell you all of this." He looked at me, wondering why I hadn't caught on.

I was wondering the same thing. I was Jacob's soul mate? Jacob looked at me, a burning need for me to understand reflected in his eyes. I blinked, and then smiled at him.

I was Jacob's imprint.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you all for being so patient and not ripping my head off – it's been a while, I know! I don't really have a good excuse either… school, sicknesses, that stuff.

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but it doesn't mean I can't dream…**

**PLEASE RR!! Reviews help so much!**

**-**

Jacob was leaning against the back of Billy's little black car that he had to drive until he finished his Rabbit project.

Jacob was always in the driveway when I got home now, waiting for me. Out of curiosity, I'd asked once if he even went to school. He had laughed, telling me that the high school in La Push started earlier than Forks High School, so it got out earlier. We did our homework together, and then Jacob would usually hang out in the kitchen while I cooked dinner for Charlie, under the guise of Official Taste-Tester. Sometimes he would stay for dinner, other times he would take something home for Billy. If Charlie was alarmed by the amount of time Jacob was over, he hid it very well. Charlie always had preferred Jacob over Edward.

"Hey Bells," Jacob said happily, his face lighting up as I slid out of the truck. He took my backpack from me and slung it easily over his shoulder along with his own, even though mine had three notebooks, one binder, and two text books crammed in it. He snaked his free arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my forehead as we walked up to the house.

"Hey Jake." I unlocked the door and led him in. He dropped our bags on the floor next to the kitchen table.

"I think you're taking more classes than allowed in one day," he teased, pretending to rub a sore shoulder. "We'll be doing homework all night!"

"Oh no," I smiled. "I guess that means I won't have time to make dinner." I heaved a theatrical sigh as I plopped down in a chair and began pulling out a notebook and a text book.

"Bella, that's not funny," Jacob said sternly as he dragged his chair closer to mine.

I reached over and poked the tip of his nose before kissing his cheek. "Yeah it was." I turned to my notebook, and opened a text book. Psychology was fun, but it was a lot of work. The tiny print didn't seem to end.

"That's the brain." Jacob pointed to a colored picture of the labeled parts of the brain.

"You're a genius," I congratulated. I placed his pencil in his misguided hand and guided it back to his math homework. "One hour," I said, "and then we'll make dinner. How's that sound?" Jacob immediately bent studiously over his homework. I smiled – anything for the promise of food.

Five minutes before our allotted time was up, the phone rang. "Saved by the bell!" Jacob threw down his pencil and went to answer it. "Wait, what?" He listened intently, glancing over at me. "You've got to be mistaken; why would they do that? This won't be a problem, Sam. I'll take care of it." He hung up and looked out of the little window above the sink.

"Jake?" I knew that look. "What's going on? Is someone coming?" In the couple months since Jacob had imprinted on me, two small groups of travelling vampires had gone through near Forks. I only knew about them because I had forced Jacob to tell me why he was always so tired. All the boys were tired since they had to run longer and more extensive patrols. I worried – unnecessarily, I was told – that someone was going to get hurt one of these times, running patrols all around La Push and also the area around my house and school and work.

"I'm… not sure. Sam says their trail leads all around without any clear heading, and that worries him. They've come closer than the other bloodsuckers have." He sighed heavily. I ignored the name calling and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his torso. He half-smiled, brushing my hair off my face and tucking the stray strands behind my ear. "And I was beginning to get used to normal sleeping hours," he complained lightly.

"It'll be over soon," I reassured him. "In the mean time, how does lasagna sound?" Jacob's face brightened considerably. I took that as his approval and bustled around the kitchen, finding all the ingredients. Jacob obediently mixed together what I told him to combine while I tested the noodles. Cooking got both our minds temporarily off the phone call from earlier.

I stuck the layered pasta dish in the oven as Charlie strolled through the door. "Hey Bells!" he called, stepping into the kitchen.

"Hi Dad." I cleaned up the kitchen with Jacob's help.

"Hi Charlie," said Jacob.

"Hello Jake, staying for dinner?"

Jacob shook his head. "I've got some stuff to do for my dad around the house tonight." I glanced at him, already worried. He jerked his head slightly in the direction of my room, telling me he'd be there later. I nodded. "I should get going now." He picked up his backpack. "See you later," he whispered to me, kissing the top of my head. He waved to Charlie, and left.

"So," said Charlie, not noticing my preoccupied expression while he poured himself a glass of milk. "What's for dinner? Smells good."

"Lasagna," I answered, pulling the dish out. Charlie set the table and we sat down to eat.

Dinner was quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts – though I'm sure his were not plagued with mythical creatures.

I washed my plate before heading upstairs to my room. I read a bit more out of my Psychology text book, forcing the functions of the amygdala and medulla in my head.

It was ten o'clock before long and I figured that I should go to bed, as much as I wanted to wait up for Jacob. I set the book on the nightstand and slipped into my ragged sweats. I crawled in between the sheets and slowly fell asleep.

I woke early; forty-five minutes before my alarm went off. Warm arms were wrapped securely around me; Jacob gently snored in my ear. I lay there, unwilling to move. I heard Charlie wake up, get ready, and leave for the station. Then my alarm went off. I groaned and stretched in the limited space I had. Jacob stirred at my movements.

"Wuzgoinon?" he asked groggily. He unwrapped one arm to knuckle the sleep out of his eyes.

"Time for school, sleepy," I said quietly. He stretched widely, an enormous yawn escaping. I rolled out of the bed and grabbed my things for a quick shower.

By the time I came downstairs, Jacob was dressed and had two bowls of cereal ready on the table. He finished his before I had even eaten my third spoonful.

"I have to run a shift after school today," Jacob informed me. I nodded resignedly and set my bowl in the sink. "I'll get here as fast as I can though." He stood and placed his hands on my waist. "I love you Bells."

"I love you too, Jake." I stood on my tip toes and kissed him. Jacob deepened the kiss for a moment, before reluctantly pulling away.

"Bye Bella." He walked quickly out the door.

I glanced at the clock, and then hurriedly grabbed my bag and keys, running out to the truck.

I barely made it to school before it started to pour. The only good thing the rain brought was the promise that we wouldn't have to run the mile in Gym today. Unfortunately, we had to play Ultimate Football instead. I ran back and forth down our court to get the participation points, but otherwise kept out of the way.

It was still raining when I entered the parking lot at a run, throwing myself in the dry cab of my truck. When I got home, I parked as close to the house as the driveway would allow. I dropped my key as I fumbled to open the simple lock quickly. I finally made it in, and dropped my wet things in the hall. I may have resigned myself to the fact that it rained a lot in Forks a long time ago, but it didn't mean I had to like getting wet.

I rounded the corner into the kitchen and nearly had a heart attack.

"Bella? You're alive!"


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm really super-duper sorry that I haven't been updating quicker! Thank you for being so patient **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these awesome characters. It is depressing.**

**PLEASE RR! This will be your second to last chance to make me feel good – make good use of it! **yesh, this is going to end with chapter 8, i'm sorry, but it has to end sometime, loves. 

-

(quick recap: Bella comes home, and she hears "Bella? You're alive!")

I couldn't move. It wasn't that I was scared, my brain just didn't seem to want to accept what my eyes and ears were giving it.

"Way to go, Edward. She'll die of shock now," muttered Alice, who looked relieved and confused at the same time.

My brain finally caught me up: Edward and Alice were standing in my tiny kitchen. The brain was trying frantically to get a message to my mouth, telling it to say something that sounded at least half-intelligent. Instead, it opened and closed slowly like a fish out of water.

"Bella?" Edward's velvet voice was full of concern, probably because I hadn't moved and I probably looked like I was suffocating or something. He seemed torn between coming closer and staying where he was.

"E-Edward?" I finally managed to choke out. "Wha-what are you doing here?"

"Bella, I couldn't _not_ come when I thought you were dead. I—"

I held up a hand. "Wait a minute. Since when was I dead?" Not only was Edward in my kitchen, but he had thought I was dead too. This just kept getting better didn't it?

"It's my fault, really," Alice spoke up. "Your future disappeared and I panicked. Then Edward rummaged through my head when I wouldn't tell Jasper what was bothering me." She shot an annoyed glance at Edward.

I glanced away from them for a moment and looked out the little kitchen window. "But why would my future disappear?" I asked, turning back to the two of them.

"The only thing we know of that would make that happen is your death," said Alice. Her forehead wrinkled. "Obviously that's not the case here."

Things were not making sense these past couple days. Why me? Jacob was a werewolf, fine, I could deal with that. But now my old vampire sweetheart comes back when he should have already left me far behind, like I had tried to do with him. "Why would you come back then?" 

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but I went on before he could get anything in. "If you thought I was dead, why come back? I'm not your responsibility anymore; you all should be living your lives and not worrying about me."

Edward looked at me sadly with his dark gold eyes. "Bella, I know you've changed, that your feelings about me are not what they used to be. I couldn't have hoped for better. But I will always love you; I told you before, maybe not is so many words, that you were the only one for me." I don't know if I've ever heard so much pain in his beautiful voice. "I couldn't accept what Alice saw; I had to come see for myself."

So that was it; I had pretty much managed to move on, but he would never stop loving me. What a pretty pickle this was.

"What have you been up to then?" Alice asked, changing the subject. I could tell it as nearly killing her that her visions had disappeared with no understandable reason.

"Well…" I knew this was going to be painful for Edward, but Alice was going to insist and it would get ugly if I refused. Edward was keeping his expression carefully blank. "It was kind of hard at first, but not as bad as I thought it'd be. I was distant, yes, for the first day or so, but I visited Jacob Black down in La Push, and, well, he really helped." I fudged a bit, "Then one thing led to another, and we're… together." I glanced at Edward, but his smooth-as-marble expression didn't change.

Alice gave me a measuring look. "That doesn't explain anything. You have a future right now. What are you leaving out?"

"Nothing!" I said, too quickly. Alice looked smug at my guilty expression. "I promised," I grumbled finally. "You of all people should understand." Alice nodded, and then a sudden smile lit up her pixie face. I knew that look. "I'm gonna spill aren't I?" It wasn't really a question.

"Outlook looks good!" Edward finally gave a sign of life, shooting Alice a warning look, which she ignored.

I sighed and dragged a chair away from the table and sat down heavily. "I never told you this," I said. They both nodded. "Okay. The day I went to visit Jake, something… happened to him. They wouldn't tell me what was wrong and they made me leave. But I – I needed Jake, so I went back, and they didn't want me there – well, Jake did." I knew I was talking fast out of nervousness. "And, well, they were all acting kind of weird and looking at me strange, and it was kind of scary because those La Push guys are huge—"

"Oh!" Edward clapped a hand to his forehead. His wide golden eyes, staring at me, were frightened. "Oh no, not good!"

"_Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"_

"_No,"_ Jacob had said,_ "they are the _same_ ones."_

As that thought flashed through my head, I realized that Edward knew what had happened to Jacob.

"What? Edward, what is it?" Alice asked sharply. She hadn't been around when the treaty was made. And Edward was; he wouldn't have the same reservations I did about spilling Jacob's secret.

"You hadn't come yet," he began. He was still looking at me as he spoke to Alice. "When we first came, the Quileute people knew exactly what we were. Carlisle managed to convince the elders that we were different from the other vampires. But the Quileutes didn't trust us enough, so we all agreed on a treaty: we would stay off their land and they wouldn't expose us."

"So this Jacob knows we're vampires? But he'll break the treaty if he tells anyone, so what's the problem?" Alice frowned; she didn't like not knowing.

Edward sighed. "We aren't the only monsters in the area." I started to protest, but Alice held a tiny hand up and Edward kept going. "I learned a little about the Quileute legends long ago when we first had the treaty, enough to discover why they were so adamant to keep us off their land. Supposedly, their ancestors were able to share bodies with the wolves, and over time I think it somehow became part of their genetic make-up and –"

Alice had put two and two together. "Werewolves? Oh. That would explain it then. You're mixing your future with them, and I'm not able to see them; probably because we're mythical enemies…" She looked at me. "You are one gigantic danger magnet, aren't you?" She shook her head, probably wondering how I could leave vampires and end up a day or two later with werewolves.

"It's a talent." I was surprise at my own slightly defensive tone. Edward opened his mouth again to say something, but the door behind me suddenly crashed open, and I could have sworn it came off the hinges.

"Bella!" Jacob came tearing into the kitchen, throwing me behind him. He was shaking all over. Edward and Alice immediately crouched down, muscles tense, ready if something happened. Jacob cocked his head, assessing the situation. "What are you doing here?" he spat, still vibrating like a tuning fork.

"Something came up," Edward said shortly.

Jacob growled, and I put my hand on his arm, which was still holding me back. He spared a quick glance back at me, and then made an effort to relax. Edward and Alice straightened up a fraction. Soon enough, only Jacob's hands were shaking; I was proud of the way he was able to get himself under control so quick.

I barely saw the brief silent exchange between Edward and Alice, but Edward nodded and Alice walked gracefully past Jacob, which sent him shivering again. I knew what was coming.

"Goodbye, Bella," she said, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back fiercely. "Be careful," she whispered before releasing me and walking out the door. Jacob was more under control again now that there was one less vampire in the house. He kept his eyes on Edward.

I could tell Edward had one last thing to say to me, but the fact that Jacob's enormous frame almost completely hid me was making that difficult. I nudged Jacob to the side and his face told me "No", but then he reluctantly stepped aside when he saw the look on _my _face.

Edward approached me slowly, stopping about an arm's length away. His eyes were tight, but he was trying his best to keep me from seeing how hard this was for him. "I—" he stopped. I hardly ever saw the articulate vampire at a loss for words. "I am honestly glad that you found someone you can be completely happy with, Bella," he said quietly. My throat closed at the pain in his voice as he walked out the door, out of my life, forever.

It was almost too much. Jacob's warm body was beside me in an instant, and I sagged gratefully against him. "It's okay, I'm here." He kissed my face and wiped the tears away. He hugged me to him and I never wanted him to let go. "It's over."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own squat.**

**Hey guys, this is the end. I really would like to thank you for being patient with my far and few between updates. Thank you for all your loving reviews, and don't forget to review one last time at the end!**

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"Are you sure you got all the invitations out?"

"Ask that one more time, Jake, I dare you."

Jacob smiled and kissed my forehead. "Just making sure. You're known to forget things." I swatted at him, but of course he dodged it easily, taking the attacking hand and pulling me to my feet. He laughed as I twirled like a tipsy ballerina before spinning into his warm body.

I rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat. Then I sighed. "I'll be so happy once tomorrow is over," I mumbled, trying to soak in as much of his body heat as possible.

"Oh yeah, because marrying your soul mate is such a hassle," Jacob said dryly.

"There's so much to do," I said, ignoring him. "The invitations are finally done, but now there's the food –"

"Which Emily told you not to worry about."

"Then the sponsors –"

"Charlie and Renée are ready for it, stop worrying."

"And then there's the ceremony itself." I sighed again. "What if I trip, or forget what to say?"

"Then it'll be on tape."

"_Jake!"_

"_Bella!"_ Jacob mimicked me. "Honey, I promise everything will be fine. The only thing that can go wrong is the weather. But the meeting house is ready in case it rains." He rubbed my back soothingly.

"It probably will," I muttered, relaxing a bit under his hands. I felt Jacob shrug.

"Probably," he agreed.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Quil and Embry letting themselves in. Embry eyed us. "Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony?"

"That's the day of, stupid." Quil punched Embry lightly in the arm. Embry shrugged. "Can we crash here for a bit?" Quil asked. "Emily kicked us out because _someone_ was trying to eat the food for tomorrow."

"I thought it was up for grabs!"

Jacob shook his head and sighed, and I giggled. "Of course," I said. "Just don't clean out Billy's fridge." Embry rolled his eyes at me.

The phone rang, and Embry grabbed it out from under Jacob's hand. Jacob growled, and I patted his chest to calm him. "Down boy." Jacob narrowed his eyes at the dog crack.

"Black residence," Embry answered. There was a pause as he listened to the caller. "Yeah. Are you sure?" Embry jumped and held the phone out at arm's length. "Okay! Don't get so bent out of shape!" he yelled back, handing it to Jacob. "Here you go. Sheesh, you'd think _he_ was the one getting married tomorrow." He shook his head and headed into the kitchen, with an amused Quil right behind him.

"Hello?" Jacob said. "Oh, hey Sam. Yeah she did, so they came over here." Jacob listened as Sam talked some more. Then his eyes widened. "You will?" He sounded surprised, and I looked up at him questioningly. Jacob tucked my hair behind my ear unconsciously. "Oh, wow, thank you! I really don't know what to say." There was another pause. "This means a lot, Sam, thanks so much. Yep. Bye." Jacob hung up and smiled down at me again.

"What is it?"

"Sam and Emily have appointed themselves as my sponsors for the wedding."

"That's so nice!" I wrapped my arms around his torso, and he kissed the top of my head. He brought a warm hand to my chin, lifting my face up, and pressed his lips to mine gently, making me melt like he always did.

There was a sudden crash, making us jump apart, followed by a thud and a yelp. Jacob groaned. "Those two are going to be the death of me!"

I laughed and stood on my tip-toes, pecking him on the lips once more. "I'll let you deal with it. I'm going to go see if Emily needs any help with the food." Jacob nodded and I grabbed my jacket from the closet and went to the door. I heard Jacob as I walked out.

"What are you two doing? It looks like a tornado passed through!" I chuckled to myself and stepped into the gray mists, pulling my hood up. Emily and Sam didn't live very far away, and I could see the lights form their house dimly through the fog.

I ran the last few feet up to their door, and let myself into the warm house. "Emily?" I called, hanging up my jacket on a hook next to the door. I followed the delicious smells of Emily's cooking into the kitchen.

She glanced at me as she was chopping up potatoes. "Hi Bella. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I'm here to help," I said cheerfully. I pushed my sleeves up, washed my hands in the sink, and grabbed a wooden spoon, flourishing it like a sword. "Tell me what to do."

Emily laughed. "Well, if you could finish chopping these potatoes for the soup, I can get started on the fry bread." I nodded and took over her station, dicing the potatoes into cubes and pouring them in the creamy broth that was simmering on the stove.

Emily and I talked easily about this and that while we worked. Much of the conversation was centered around the pack; Embry and Quil's latest antics, Paul and Leah dating and the other's bets on how long it would last between the hot-tempered couple. Thankfully, Emily seemed to know that I wanted to stay away from any talk of the wedding. I was already nervous enough.

"Are we really going to need all this food?" I asked finally. I could see that the refrigerator was already stuffed to the brim, and over-full coolers sat stacked in teetering piles around the kitchen.

Emily smiled and nodded. "Nearly everyone on the rez is coming, plus your family and friends.

"Wow," was all I could think of to say. The screen door in the kitchen that led out to the backyard creaked open. If the little kitchen seemed crowded before, it was downright claustrophobic now that Sam and Jacob stepped in.

"Smells good in here," Sam said appreciatively. Jacob nodded in agreement.

Jacob came over and leaned on the counter next to where I worked. "What did you do with Quil and Embry?" I asked, stirring the soup.

"Sam sent them on patrol to get them out of the way." I chuckled at Jacob's relieved tone.

"Sam, Jacob, I'm making a new rule," said Emily. "If you're here, you help." She handed them both large bowls filled with fruit and then pointed to the sink. "Rinse and cut."

Jacob saluted, and he and Sam began to wash the strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, cutting up the bigger ones and putting them in the fruit salad that Emily had already started.

We all worked for some time, chatting happily and joking. We hardly noticed the dying light behind the clouds as the afternoon and evening wore on.

We were cleaning up when there was a knock on the kitchen door. "Hey Sam?" Embry's face appeared in the light coming from the kitchen. "Can we borrow some shorts?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Just a minute." He weaved gracefully through the cluttered kitchen to the cupboard in the hall that Emily kept full of spare pairs of shorts for cases such as this.

Jacob wrapped his arms around me as I set the last dish in the drying rack. "Should we go?" he asked, kissing my cheek noisily.

I nodded. My feet were getting sore, and I still had to get through tomorrow. Jacob seemed to sense my tiredness. He scooped me up into his arms and carried me all the way back to my truck, sliding me into the passenger's seat and climbing into the driver's seat himself. I leaned against his side, grateful for the warmth in the dropping temperature, but fighting the sleep that came with it.

The ride was quiet. I couldn't keep my mind from wandering to tomorrow. I shivered, and Jacob wrapped his arm around me tighter, thinking I was cold. But my shiver had nothing to do with the cold. I had suddenly thought of Edward Cullen, after nearly four years. I had always thought it would be him I was going to stand next to at the altar ever since we had started dating. I wouldn't have been able to imagine it any other way. And here I was, marrying my true soul mate, and his name wasn't Edward. The difference between Jacob and Edward was glaringly obvious. I stopped thinking about it; those kinds of thoughts could hurt, and I had no intention of worrying Jacob now. Instead, I concentrated on the heat emanating from him, listening to the thump of his powerful heart, the one that loved me so much.

The house was dark and quiet when we rolled into the driveway. Jacob carried my tired body again into the house and up the stairs, somehow missing all the squeaky spots in his weird werewolf way. He set me on my bed and lay next to me, keeping me toasty warm with his space-heater quality. I wiggled as close as possible and he wrapped his arms around me.

"After tomorrow, you'll be all mine," he teased, kissing my forehead.

I shook my head. "I've been yours for four years," I mumbled into his chest.

He chuckled quietly. "No, I'm pretty sure _I've_ been _yours_."

I shrugged. "Potato, potahto."

XXX

Standing behind the curtain, I could hear a version of the wedding song, the flowing melody of the flute carrying clearly. The weather had turned out to be cooperative.

I clutched my bouquet nervously. Charlie noticed my preoccupation. "Bells, you'll be fine. This is one of the happiest days of your life, try to enjoy it," he told me, squeezing my shoulder.

Sue Clearwater fixed the train of my flowing white gown. "Your father's right," she said, giving me a kind smile. "There's nothing to worry about."

All too soon, Charlie took my arm in his and we walked slowly out of the tent where we had been waiting, and down the aisle. I could see Jacob up ahead, perfectly handsome in a black tuxedo. He was grinning widely as I came into view, and I couldn't help but smile myself.

After what had to have been the longest ten twenty feet ever, I finally took my place beside Jacob. Old Quil beamed at us; he was to be the officiant for the ceremony. Our sponsors, Charlie and Renée, and Sam and Emily, took their places just behind us. Old Quil began the ceremony, speaking in the native language, blessing all who were gathered. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard even though I didn't understand any of it. The words flowed together seamlessly. Old Quil approached us, and two assistants covered us both in separate blue blankets. Then he took one of our hands and held them together in both of his.

"The blue blankets symbolize you as two separate entities. You may feel as if you are one together, but the eyes of the Creator do not see it as such." Old Quil nodded, and his assistants came and removed the blue blankets, replacing them with one white blanket that covered both Jacob and I. "The one white blanket represents your new life from now on together as a couple. As the appointed officiant for this ceremony, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go through life together with the blessing of the Creator." He squeezed our hands and stepped back.

It was quiet; it felt like something very obvious was missing. A chant started from the crowd. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Jacob looked at me and shrugged, smiling. He bent forward and pressed his lips to mine, and the chanters cheered.

"_Now you will feel no rain,_

_For each of you will be shelter to the other._

_Now you will feel no cold,_

_For each of you will be warmth to the other._

_Now there is no more loneliness,_

_For each of you will be the companion to the other._

_Now you are two bodies,_

_But there is only one life before you._

_Go now to your home_

_To enter into the days of your togetherness_

_And may your days be good and long upon the earth."_

_**A/N: All done! I hope you guys enjoyed it; it was fun to write and then read all your reviews. Quick little side note before I let you get to reviewing (hint hint), the wedding ceremony/traditions in here were taken from both the Algonquin and Cherokee tribes, I just took what bits fit the best and mixed them together. The wedding prayer-song is Apache. Ok, now hit the "Go" button and tell me what you thought of this story! Love you all (especially if you review!)**_


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